Expectations surrounding second-year wide receiver Dante Pettis are high after the strong finish to his rookie campaign. Pettis finished 2018 with 27 catches for 467 receiving yards with five touchdowns. Three hundred fifty-nine of those yards came during his last five games played. That's just under a 72-yards-per-game average.
Many envision Pettis being a potential breakout player for the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. Peter Schrager of "Good Morning Football" agrees and named Pettis among his Top 10 Breakout Stars for the upcoming season. The wideout came in at No. 7 on the list.
"A guy who could not stay healthy last year, but when he was, was an absolute stud," Schrager said during the segment. "His name is Dante Pettis, out of the University of Washington. Last year, started out the season, had some plays, was banged up, injured.
"Let me tell you something about the 49ers offseason. They flirted with Odell Beckham's contract a little bit. They talked about that with Cleveland. There were conversations. Oh, and they were approached about Antonio Brown quite a bit.
"They didn't go for those guys. They said, 'We like what we have in-house,' and the main reason why is this guy. No pressure Dante. But Dante Pettis is going to be the number one wideout in that 49ers offense. And if you don't think Kyle Shanahan has been in the laboratory working on ways to get him open and get him the ball, you've got another thing coming."
"There was talk of Odell Beckham in the @49ers facility. They weren't interested in Antonio Brown. One of the main reasons why they stayed put at WR was how highly they view @dmainy_13." - @PSchrags on a "Breakout Star" for 2019. pic.twitter.com/Foq3avkYqy
— GMFB (@gmfb) July 31, 2019
Schrager notes that Pettis put on 10 pounds of weight this offseason, which the second-year wideout revealed to reporters on Sunday.
"One of the reasons why was they want to see more bulk out of him, and the ability to stay healthy," Schrager added.
Pettis told the media that he was very conscious of the weight he lost throughout last season. He was down to about 180 pounds by the end of it. That's why Pettis felt the need to add weight this offseason.
"I was like if I can get up to around 195-plus, if I lose weight during the season, I won't drop down below 190, so that was just something I knew I needed to do," Pettis said.
H/t to Patrick Tulini for the find.